Flowers, blossoms and floral motifs will still dominate fabrics for soft furnishings, bedding and table cloths in 2015. The leading international trade fair for residential and commercial textiles, Heimtextil Frankfurt, confirmed this trend earlier in January this year and showcased a broad range of floral fabrics from informally scattered single blossoms and intertwined foliage motifs to giant single blossoms covering the entire width of the fabric. Another trend was animal motifs, with butterflies anywhere and everywhere. The animal world has also found its way into the kitchen where visitors could admire original artist's drawings of fish, rabbits, hens, stags and wild boar for table sets, tea towels, and chair cushions. Fabrics with decorative feathers, classic herringbone and houndstooth patterns, as well as baroque motifs, allow for new combinations and eye-catching decorations. To read more about the Heimtextil Theme Park with trends for 2015/16 check out my blog from January.
New techniques for pattern design
Unusual colour combinations, interesting patterns and textured fabrics create a new look for armchairs and sofas. Frankfurt demonstrated that new weaving techniques and yarns pave the way for endless opportunities for pattern creations. Many fabrics are washable, which makes it possible to use them inside and outside.
Wallpaper mania
Wallpaper is still very popular and not to be missed if you want to transform a room completely and create some impact. Exhibitors showed everything from minimalistic plain faux finishes to flowers and blossoms in all kinds and styles to banana palms stretching from floor to ceiling. Traditional patterns, such as houndstooth, are now available in more abstract designs and striking colours. Many wallpapers appear to be three-dimensional due to their sophisticated pattern.
A feast for your feet
The floor has become another playground for colour lovers with a huge range of hues available from neutrals to high chromatic striking colours. Heimtextil highlights are cosy carpets with a velvet texture in muted colours, two-coloured cotton rugs in stripes or checks, kelims with both traditional and modern designs, and a myriad of patterns from ornamental baroque revivals to mosaics, stripes, checks, dots and blossoms as floor art.
Window dressings
An endless choice of fabrics, patterns and colours for window coverings dominated the show. Visitors could find anything from delicate decorative sheers to a variety of block out weaves to protect from light and sun. Curtain rods are elegant and shiny made of stainless steel, aluminium, chrome, brass or painted metal with decorative and striking end pieces.
Pattern fun with digital printing
Digital printing played a massive role at this year's Heimtextil with a huge number of decorative fabrics, bed linen and wallpaper that had been produced in a digital printing process. Advantages of the digital printing process clearly are the speed, photorealistic quality of reproduction and the possibility to print large pattern repeat templates.
Bathroom bliss
Colour has found its way into the bathroom. Some Heimtextil exhibitors showed hand towels in 40 different colours. The world is your oyster when it comes to decorating your bathroom: choose blues, greens and turquoise for a Mediterranean feel, midnight blue, copper, petrol and jade for an oriental look, or lavender, purple and grey for a more feminine touch. Patterns appear to be bolder with stripes, checks, oriental paisley designs, kelim-style decoration, and imitations of animal skins. Other designers took inspiration from great painters like Gustav Klimt.
Sweet dreams
Floral designs are a must-have for bed linen. The range was greater than ever before. Delicate petals, little posies, or huge blossoms are only some examples of the wide range of floral creations covering our beds in the coming season. Many exhibitors showed large decorative pillows, often embellished with embroidery. Bedspreads are coordinated with bed linen through colour and pattern. From pale pastels to eye-catching animal prints, a variety of products for every taste is available.
Set the table
Everyday tableware impressed to be a feast for the eyes. Bright colours from a light yellow to a dark aubergine set the scene for table textiles with often more than 20 hues available for a single product. White, cream, grey and pastels create a more elegant table setting. A lot of collections now include linen as a beautiful material in its natural colours. Floral designs have, of course, also found their way onto the table.
For more information on this year's show visit the Heimtextil website.
